Tennessee governor signs bill penalizing adults who help minors get abortions

Tennessee’s governor has approved legislation designed to block adults from helping minors get an abortion or receive gender-affirming care without parental consent, proposals that are both likely to face immediate legal challenges when they go into effect later this year.

The Republican governor, Bill Lee, quietly signed the bills on Tuesday without comment. However, the governor’s actions weren’t unexpected. During his time in office, Lee has enacted sweeping restrictions on gender-affirming care for young people and has defended Tennessee’s near total ban on abortion while stressing his opposition to the procedure.

Both laws go into effect on 1 July.

Lee’s actions mean Tennessee will soon become the second state in the nation to enact legislation that supporters say will stop any adult who “intentionally recruits, harbors, or transports” a pregnant minor within the state to get an abortion without consent from the minor’s parents or guardians.

Ambulance drivers, emergency medical services personnel and other common transportation services are exempt under the law.

Those convicted of breaking the law would be charged with a class A misdemeanor, which requires a nearly one year imprisonment sentence.

“Parents have a right to be involved with their daughters’ wellbeing. The abortion industry has no right to keep parents in the dark at a time when their daughters are so vulnerable and could possibly be in danger,” said Stacy Dunn, Tennessee Right to Life’s president, in a statement.

Meanwhile, Tennessee is so far the first state to pursue penalizing adults who help minors receive gender-affirming care without parental consent.

The bill mirrors almost the same language from a so-called anti-abortion trafficking proposal, where